Category: News

Participants representing Local Government Units (LGUs) from the Visayas region came together for the Development of Public Sector Productivity Specialists-Foundation Course (DPSPS-FC) pitching session held online last 9 June 2023.

The session allowed this year’s second batch of DPSPS-FC participants to present their Productivity Improvement Plans (PIPs). The participants presented their PIPs to their respective Local Chief Executives (LCEs). Productivity experts of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) provided their insights and inputs as well. The PIPs were crafted to address specific areas of improvement and enhance productivity within their LGUs.

Participants from the Municipalities of Batad, Leganes, Mina, New Lucena, and Sara from the Province of Iloilo; Municipality of Hinoba-an from Negros Occidental Province; Municipality of Javier from Leyte Province; and Municipality of Maydolong from Eastern Samar Province joined this pitching session.

DPSPS-FC participants presenting the details of their Productivity Improvement Plan.

Each PIP demonstrated a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by the respective LGUs, offering unique approaches to overcome them. The plans encompassed a wide range of initiatives, such as streamlining administrative processes, optimizing resource allocation, and implementing technology-driven solutions.

Following the presentations, the LCEs expressed their appreciation for the hard work and dedication exhibited by the participants. They acknowledged the effort put into developing the PIPs and provided constructive feedback to refine the proposed strategies further. As a testament to the proposed plans’ quality and feasibility, most LGUs received the go signal to proceed with the implementation of their PIPs. This validation from the LCEs served as a vote of confidence in the plans’ potential to enhance productivity and promote sustainable development within their respective municipalities.

The LGUs that received approval will enter the pilot-testing and coaching phase. During this period, the PIPs will be implemented, allowing the LGUs to gauge their effectiveness in a real-world setting. Designated coaches will also provide guidance and support to ensure the successful execution of the PIPs.

The DPSP-FC aims to equip public sector organizations with the knowledge, skills, and tools to drive productivity and efficiency in the public sector.

More than 100 participants from various government offices attended the first two runs of the Productivity Challenge Workshop organized by the Development Academy of the Philippines’ (DAP), through the Center of Excellence on Public-Sector Productivity (COE-PSP), on 31 May and 1 June 2023.

The virtual workshop aimed to help the participants increase their understanding of productivity and innovation in the public sector; discover problems and gaps that hamper their productivity; and design solutions to counter these gaps via tried-and-tested productivity tools. The participants’ project ideas generated during the workshop were entered into the 2023 Productivity Spark: 1,000 Ideas for Productivity, aimed at generating innovative ideas that can inspire and increase government productivity and bring forth improvement.

A participant from Day 2 receives feedback from Mr. Ramirez after discussing her Fishbone diagram.

Mr. Adrian Ramirez of DAP-Productivity and Development Center and Ms. Gianne Gaoiran of DAP-Center of Governance facilitated the workshops. Mr. Ramirez opened the session on “Productivity and Innovation in the Public Sector” by introducing the productivity framework and stressing the importance of keeping the public sector productive—with it being the biggest spender of public funds and one of the country’s largest employers. Innovation, which positively influences productivity, led to the discussion of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle and its relevance to the four challenge questions.

Mr. Ramirez discusses the listening gap, one of the five gaps in service quality featured in the workshop.

In the second session, Mr. Ramirez’s discussion of the various types of productivity gaps and the Root Cause Analysis (RCA) aided the participants in preparing for their first hands-on activity. Participants identified problems in their respective agencies and captured root causes through the Fishbone Diagram. Outputs of this activity fed into the final session, which Ms. Gaoiran handled.

Ms. Gaoiran gives practice exercises as she introduces the Opposite Thinking tool.

The “Designing for Innovative Solutions” session prompted the attendees to problem-solve, with the introduction of the divergent and convergent thinking styles and tools such as Opposite Thinking and Related Worlds. Towards the end, the participants were guided to complete the entry form using their outputs.

The COE-PSP will organize more runs of the Productivity Challenge Workshop in the coming months.

The Development Academy of the Philippines’ (DAP) Productivity and Development Center, through the Government Quality Management Program (GQMP), virtually held the 4th GQMP Symposium: Service Quality Standards – Towards Quality Service for All Citizens on 11 May 2023.

This year’s symposium’s theme “Towards Quality Service for All Citizens” is aligned with the goal of the new Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 in developing broader national government assessments using the whole- of-government approach and business satisfaction surveys.

The virtual event addressed the mandate of government agencies and core principles of public sector actors: that is citizen-centered assistance and service. The event also underscored the need to serve the Filipino people with evidence-based strategies.

In his opening remarks, DAP President and CEO Atty. Engelbert C. Caronan, Jr. talked about the importance of providing quality service to citizens and the role of client satisfaction surveys.

DAP President and CEO Atty. Engelbert C. Caronan, Jr. delivering his opening remarks.

Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Chair of the Government Quality Management Committee (GQMC) Sec. Amenah F. Pangandaman delivered a keynote speech, where she discussed the significance of service quality standards and their role in improving bureaucratic efficiency and good governance.

DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman delivering her keynote speech.

Ms. IreMae Labucay of DAP’s Productivity and Development Center (PDC) and Director Monica D. Saliendres of the PDC Productivity Development Research Office (PDRO) presented their study on The Practice Good Governance and Improvement of Bureaucratic Processes with metrics on key services currently being provided by agencies. The takeaway in their study which attendees took interest in is the expedition of services and the simplicity of availing said services. Their recommendation for a citizen-centered approach is to increase employees in each office, satellite hub, or agency to ensure that the efficiency in response time and knowledge on how to address a citizen’s issue will build trust and achieve the standards and mandates of the institutions, making them more productive in their day-to-day operations. Their study was strategically made in highly urbanized cities (e.g., Quezon City, Angeles City, Cebu City, and Davao City) where the offices are and where they conducted the survey.

Director Monica D. Saliendres of the PDC Productivity Development Research Office (PDRO) explains why there is a need to institutionalize evidence-based Service Quality Standards (SQS) in Frontline Government Services.

“The IT enables most transactions, like queuing, submissions, and payment, if implemented properly. But we should not forget the digitally disconnected: the elderly, those with lower education, and those in rural areas that transact with the government, and those who do not have internet,” according to Ms. Labucay.

Eng. Leonor Cleofas of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems and Atty. Joe Cristine Celera of Manila Water Company, meanwhile, presented their respective institutions’ practices in good governance and their intersectional approach to customer-support, services, employee training, and their local to international quality standards.

“In Manila Water, we believe sustainability starts from within. By developing our employees, great service and company growth follow,” said Atty. Joe Cristine Celera.

Some of the key takeaways from the event include the following:

● Good governance especially for government agencies created with mandates to serve the people should be citizen-centric.
● The efficiency problem can be caused by the lack of knowledge of the government employee and the citizen applying or seeking assistance.
● More than serving the customers, it is also important to boost the capacity of employees for them to be empowered to make decisions and be more productive in the work that they do. This in turn also improves client satisfaction.

DAP Senior Vice President for Programs Magdalena L. Mendoza delivered the Closing Remarks, where she mentioned that serving customers right is just one part of the task. To be inclusive, a good customer experience should be felt everywhere–it should be felt at most, if not all, points of contacts of government.

DAP Senior Vice President for Programs Magdalena L. Mendoza delivering her Closing Remarks.

Did you miss the event? Watch the recording here.

Participants from 11 national agencies completed the Upskilling stage of the Designing Citizen-Centered Public Services (DCCPS) training offered by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) through the Center of Excellence on Public-Sector Productivity (COE-PSP).

Held last 24-28 April 2023 held in DAP Conference Center in Tagaytay City, the Upskilling stage offered various lectures and workshops designed to enable participants to identify the service they want to improve and develop ideas to better services to the citizens.

DCCPS is an intervention offered by DAP’s COE-PSP that uses a different approach to streamlining and process improvement by prioritizing the client’s perspective. It is composed of four stages: Upskilling, Pitching, Project Incubation, and Knowledge and Experience Sharing.

The first batch of the 2023 DCCPS program is composed of 51 participants from the following agencies and state universities: Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT), National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), Pangasinan State University – Lingayen Campus, Professional Regulation Commission – Regional Office XI (PRC-Region XI), Philippine Statistics Authority, Philippine Ports Authority – Port Management Office Bicol (PPA), Department of Transportation – Automatic Fare Collection System Program Office (DOTr), Philippine Air Force, Department of Health – Rizal Medical Center (RMC), National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), and Southern Luzon State University (SLSU).

The Upskilling stage of the training program covered the following sessions: Discover, Define, Design, and Deliver. These sessions were handled by Peter Dan Baon, Program Director of COE-PSP; Ms. Gianne Karla Gaoiran, Project Officer from the Office of the Managing Director of the Center for Governance; and Mr. Adrian Ramirez from the Productivity and Development Center. Through these stages, the participants were able to develop a plan and a low fidelity prototype, which will be continuously developed through the next stages and implemented in the participants’ respective offices.

In the next coming months, the participants will be focusing on pitching and project incubation to be able to iterate and later on implement their own projects in their respective agencies and universities.

Batch 1 of COE-PSP’s Designing Citizen-Centered Public Services 2023
Participants from 11 national agencies completed the Upskilling stage of the Designing Citizen-Centered Public Services (DCCPS) training offered by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) through the Center of Excellence on Public-Sector Productivity (COE-PSP).

The first batch of the Development of Public Sector Productivity Specialists – Foundation Course (DPSPS-FC) officially entered the course’s second phase last 24 March 2023.

The attendees from 10 participating national government agencies–the Bureau of Animal Industry, Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, Department of Science and Technology Region 6, National Youth Commission, Philippine Navy, Department of Agrarian Reform Central Office, Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office IV-B, National Security Council, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Academy, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology–had a pitching session of their Productivity Improvement Plan (PIP).

The PIPs were presented for comments and suggestions from their nominating officers and training experts Elena Cruz, former Vice President of the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) Productivity and Development Center and Nina Estudillo, Productivity Expert at Asian Productivity Organization.

Through this session, the participants determined if their PIPs are ready to be transitioned to the pilot-testing stage. This session is part of a four-part stage of the foundation course, which consists of lectures and workshops, pitching, pilot-testing, and knowledge sharing.

The DPSPS-FC, organized by the DAP Center of Excellence on Public-Sector Productivity, is a two-month hybrid training program designed to equip technical staff and officers of the Management Division and related offices of public-sector organizations with the knowledge and skills in measurement, analysis, planning, and troubleshooting to increase their organizations’ productivity.

Participants from the National Security Council during the online Pitching Session
Participants from DAR – Central Office during the online Pitching Session
Participants from DSWD-MIMAROPA during the online pitching session

The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) as the Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity (COE-PSP) organized the lecture and workshop series for the first batch of the Development of Public Sector Productivity Specialists Foundation Course (DPSPS-FC) for 2023, with attendees from 10 National Government Agencies (NGAs).

With a total of 47 participants, the DPSPS-FC concluded the series of lectures and workshop sessions held on 13-17 March 2023 via Zoom platform. The participating agencies are as follows: Bureau of Animal Industry, Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, Department of Science and Technology Region 6, National Youth Commission, Philippine Navy, Department of Agrarian Reform Central Office, Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office IV-B, National Security Council, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Academy, and Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

Center for Governance Managing Director Ms. Imelda Caluen delivered the opening remarks on the first day of the course. The initial stage of the foundation course, meanwhile, was divided into five sessions that aim to equip the participants to develop a Productivity Improvement Plan (PIP). The participants attended the following sessions: Understanding Productivity Concepts, Measuring Productivity in the Public Sector, Diagnosing and Analyzing Productivity, Identifying Productivity Improvement Solutions, and the Development of the Productivity Improvement Plan. The sessions were delivered by AO25 Secretariat’s Director Ms. Ma. Rosario Ablan; DAP Productivity and Development Center’s former Vice President Ms. Elena Cruz; Asian Productivity Organization’s Productivity Expert Ms. Nina Estudillo; and COE-PSP’s Project Officer Ms. Rocio Paloma.

The five-day training workshop was essential in crafting the PIP, which will be presented to each agency’s nominating officers. The creation of PIPs enabled the participants to put into practice their learnings, which can contribute to the collective improvement of public sector productivity.

DPSPS-FC is a training program designed to equip technical staff and officers of Management Divisions and related offices of public sector organizations with the knowledge and skills in measurement, analysis, planning, and troubleshooting to increase their respective organizations’ productivity.

As part of the 2023 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Work, Innovation, Productivity and Skills, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held a session to discuss how policymakers should respond to the latest developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI). With the advent of new technologies such as deep learning and autonomous systems, the session aimed to explore the challenges and opportunities of these new forms of AI and identify ways stakeholders can use this policy to ensure that benefits are maximized, and risks are minimized.

Summary

The session held last 27 March was attended by representatives from the academe, government, and civil society, who discussed AI’s role in addressing critical social challenges. Participants also discussed the importance of ensuring that AI is developed in a way that is consistent with fundamental human rights, including privacy, non-discrimination, and fairness.

Speakers and panelists include Professor Ajay Agrawal (Economist and Professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management), Emilija Stojmenova Duh (Minister of Digital Transformation, Republic of Slovenia), Zoë Baird (Senior Counsellor to Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Department of Commerce), and Gabriel Mazzini (Team Leader, AI ACT, European Commission). Stephanie Ifayemi (Partnership on AI) moderated the panel discussion.

In his keynote speech, Professor Agrawal centered his discussion on the economic implications of AI systems – their costs and benefits. He also discussed the difference between the Point Solution and System Solution concerning AI technologies.

Professor Agrawal said most AI applications are being brought to market as a point solution to increase the productivity gains of stakeholders. For example, taxi companies provide navigational AIs to make professional taxi drivers better and to increase their productivity.

On the other hand, the system-level solution attempts to redesign the entire system with a new resolution to increase productivity. Uber, for example, was a complete redesign of the system.

During the panel discussion, Minister Duh provided several policy recommendations that Slovenia is making and shared how her country is balancing to address the emerging risks of AI while promoting innovation and adoption of trustworthy AI.

According to Minister Duh, some of their AI priority policies include quality data and open data maturity, setting up data stewards in the public sector, and establishing a national program for AI.

On the other hand, Baird discussed how the United States invests in education and training programs to ensure that individuals are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to work with new technologies.

“Productivity improvements can come from multiple directions. It is an area of enormous challenge to create an agile, rapidly-changing training system that enables millions of workers to learn the skills to participate in the economy and enables multiple new entrants and results in an economy that is not concentrated in a few winners,” Ms. Baird added.

Overall, the session provided insights into how policymakers should respond to the latest developments in AI by ensuring that policies promote human well-being and advance the public interest.

Key Takeaways

  • As AI continues to evolve and become increasingly integrated into our daily lives, it is essential that policymakers take a proactive approach to ensure that benefits are maximized, and risks are minimized.
  • It is vital for countries to develop ethical guidelines and standards for AI.
  • Public participation and dialogue are essential in shaping AI policy to ensure that all stakeholders’ interests are taken into account.

Watch the recording of the session here.

Professor Ajay Agrawal of the University of Torotno delivers his keynote speech.

The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), through its Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity (COE-PSP), officially launched the Productivity Challenge on February 28, 2023.

This challenge, which will run from 2023 to 2026, is multi-year crowdsourcing of ideas and actions aimed at boosting public sector productivity in the country.

It also envisions advancement in the productivity movement by raising awareness and enabling a culture of innovation to improve performance and quality service delivery.

The launch featured a webinar titled Elevating Public Sector Productivity: From Awareness to Action which targets to increase awareness and stimulate discussion on public sector productivity.

1,000 Ideas

This year, the challenge will focus on collecting and curating 1,000 Ideas that will spark productivity in the public sector. The challenge aims to provide a platform for innovative ideas on productivity.

Individuals and groups working in the public sector are encouraged to submit their ideas which will be stored in an online repository that public sector practitioners and decision-makers can access. These ideas will help them in championing public sector productivity within their organizations.

Accepting of entries for the 1,000 Ideas started last March 1, 2023, through this platform.

COE-PSP Program Manager Peter Dan Baon, who led the launch, said that the Productivity Challenge is a nudge to accelerate the much-needed productivity change in the Philippine Government.

As part of the launch, the COE-PSP also organized a webinar where Ms. Maria Rosario Ablan, a Fellow of the COE-PSP, provided an overview and practical examples of innovative ideas on productivity in the public sector.

Understanding Productivity

During her discussion, Ms. Ablan explained that, traditionally, productivity refers to the volume of inputs over the number of outputs. Productivity measures the efficiency of production inputs such as labor and capital.

Ms. Ablan explained productivity in three concepts:

  • As a technical concept – Productivity can either be partial (which refers to the ratio of output to a single input) or total (the ratio of output to all inputs).
  • As a social concept – Productivity is all attitude of the mind. It seeks to continuously improve what already exists and think of ways to do better today than yesterday.
  • As a management concept – Productivity is a managed process where an organization efficiently converts inputs to outputs (products/services) to satisfy the expectations of its clients and stakeholders.
Common productivity issues

In her presentation, Ms. Ablan shared the concepts of Three Mus introduced by Taiichi Ohno, a Japanese industrial engineer considered the Father of the Toyota Production System.

  • Muda (waste) – Any activity that consumes resources without adding customer value. Muda essentially increases organizational costs while increasing the possibility of committing errors. Examples of Muda include defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilized talent, transportation, inventory, motion, and extra processing.
  • Mura (unevenness) – This productivity issue refers to the erratic pace of work (i.e., rushed, slowed down, or stopped). Mura promotes inconsistencies within the organization, attributed to poor planning and an unbalanced workload.
  • Muri (overburden) – Utilization of people or equipment beyond their capacity. Mura brings unnecessary stress or burden to people and equipment.

During the webinar, the participants had the opportunity to share the productivity problems and concerns they face within their respective organizations, aligned with the productivity wastes discussed.

Productivity in action

Ms. Ablan also shared examples of productivity initiatives in the Philippines and from other countries. Here are some:

  • Philippines – Baliwag Treasury Information and Management System by the Provincial Government of Bulacan. The system required less manual paperwork and allowed real-time cash flow monitoring and efficient report generation.
  • Malaysia – Facial Recognition to prevent crimes by the Penang State Government. The intervention helped ease law enforcement and address street crimes by installing and upgrading the CCTV control center.
  • Hong Kong – Vehicle Mapping System by the Hong Kong Lands Department. This intervention helped efficiently acquire street view imagery and point cloud data, enabling the government to assess buildings’ conditions.
  • Indonesia – Citizen Relationship Management Application by the Jakarta Provincial Government and Jakarta City Management. The app aims to bridge the gap between the citizens and the provincial government and promote a transparent, clean, citizen-focused type of government.

“If the productivity at the national level is high, it means that we have an effective use of resources—leading to economic growth and a better standard of living and human welfare,” Ms. Ablan said during the webinar.

Did you miss the event? Watch the webinar recording here.

Are you up to the challenge? Join and visit us at http://productivitychallenge.dap.edu.ph/.

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The Development Academy of the Philippines is inviting representatives of any government agency to participate in the Designing Citizen-Centered Public Service (DCCPS) Capability Development Program. The DCCPS is one of the Academy’s strategies to contribute to the effort to raise the productivity performance of agencies, as stipulated in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 (Chapter 14, Outcome 3).

What is the Designing Citizen-Centered Public Service Program?

The Designing Citizen-Centered Public Service (DCCPS) is a three-month hybrid program aimed at assisting government agencies in developing solutions that address their clients’ needs and expectations. Read the full program here.

The DCCPS program is divided into four (4) phases:

Who can join?

To join, you must form a team of three (3) to five (5) members who satisfy the following qualifications:

  • Currently working in the same National Government Agency (NGA), Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC), Local Government Units (LGU), and State Universities and Colleges (SUC);
  • Delivers the same service
  • Performs any of the following functions: decision-making, client support or frontline service delivery, administrative, logistics, and IT
  • Optional: A Division Chief or high-ranking official

Requirements from the participants:

Certificate of completion will be issued for those who:

  • attended all sessions under each phase of the program: Upskilling, Pitching, Pilot Testing and Coaching, and Knowledge and Experience Sharing.
  • submitted the required outputs; and
  • implemented and presented partial results of their innovation project in the Knowledge and Experience Sharing Session.

How to join?

Sign up by completing the Nomination Form and submitting the signed Letter of Commitment, which can be downloaded at: DCCPS Forms.

Please send the accomplished forms in PDF format to cfg-coepsp-gse1@dap.edu.ph

  • We have 40 slots for this batch and sign-ups are on a first come, first served basis. The deadline for Nomination Forms for this batch is on 14 March 2023.
  • This course is free of charge and only requires the full commitment of the nominated participants, including participation to catch up sessions after the workshop.
  • If slots are filled, nominees will be asked to join another batch.

For inquiries and clarifications about the DCCPS Workshop, please email us at cfg-coepsp-gse1@dap.edu.ph.

The Development Academy of the Philippines is inviting representatives of National Government Agencies (NGA) to participate in the Development of Public Sector Productivity Specialists – Foundation Course (DPSPSFC) Capability Development Program. The DPSPS-FC is one of the Academy’s strategies to help raise the productivity performance of agencies, as stipulated in the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 (Chapter 14, Outcome 3).

What is the Development of Public Sector Productivity Specialists – Foundation Course?

The DPSPS-FC is a two-month hybrid training program designed to equip technical staff and officers of Management Division and related offices of public-sector organizations (PSOs) with the knowledge and skills in measurement, analysis, planning, and troubleshooting to increase their organizations’ productivity. Read the full program here.

DPSPS-FC activities are divided into four phases:

Who can join?

To join, you must form a team of three (3) to five (5) members who satisfy the following qualifications:

  • Currently working in the same NGA.
  • Part of the Management Division or related offices whose functions involve:
  1. recommending measures to improve systems, processes, procedures, and services; reviewing and implementing of recommended improvements;
  2. conduct of training on systems/process improvements; and
  3. supervising staff supervision in implementing systems and process improvements.
  • Performs any of the following functions/roles: decision-making, technical management, operational management, administrative, planning, etc.
Requirements from the participants:

Certificate of Completion will be issued to those who:

  • attended all the phases of the program: Upskilling, Pitching, Pilot Testing and Coaching, and Knowledge and Experience Sharing;
  • submitted the required outputs, including the Productivity Improvement Plan (PIP); and
  • implemented and presented initial results of their productivity improvement initiative in the Knowledge and Experience Sharing Session.
How to join?

Sign up by completing the Nomination Form and submitting the signed Letter of Commitment, which you can download here: DPSPSFC Forms.

Please send the accomplished forms in PDF format to cfg-coepsp-gse1@dap.edu.ph

  • We have 40 slots for this batch and sign-ups are on a first come, first served basis. The deadline for Nomination Forms for this batch is on 24 February 2023.
  • This course is free of charge and only requires the full commitment of nominated participants including participation in the scheduled catch-up sessions.
  • If slots are filled, nominees will be asked to join another batch.

For inquiries and clarifications about the DPSPS-FC program, please email us at cfg-coepsp-gse1@dap.edu.ph.